Overview
- The stickers appeared in public places in Berlin and on social media this week, and the Berlin Linke said Wednesday that the images portraying Elif Eralp as backing an “Intifada” were forgeries.
- Linke Landesgeschäftsführer Björn Tielebein said the party filed a fraud complaint via the Berlin police internetwache after finding the motif was not authorized by the party.
- Prominent figures including CDU politician Falko Liecke and Volker Beck shared or queried the sticker online and then deleted their posts after Linke officials informed them the design was fake.
- The sticker used a photo of Eralp, the Linke Berlin logo and a map in Palestinian colors with the slogan “Yallah Intifada! Mit Elif Eralp: Intifada ins Abgeordnetenhaus wählen!”, which deepened sensitivity because it echoes language from a late‑August rapper incident at a Neukölln Linke event.
- The episode could heighten legal and reputational pressure on parties during the campaign and increase scrutiny of how misinformation and political forgeries are used to shape voter perceptions.